Almost no one reads the fucking article.

You are describing the human species. Through its entire history.

More fundamentally, I think there are a lot of countries that could benefit from taking a good long look at themselves and asking –

• Why does this nation exist?
• Whose needs matter most?
• To what end are our nation’s resources directed?
• What are our our priorities?

Because I think a lot of countries have just straight-up lost the plot. They’ve lost sight of, and fail to articulate, their purpose for existing, and thus squander phenomenal resources on bullshit. They live in myths and fantasies and old cultural scripts that haven’t been relevant or functional since the mid-70s.

I think honest answers to those questions would kind of horrify people – at least, they should horrify American citizens – and it might spark an actual change of direction.

I’m baffled that you’re getting downvotes – like… yeah. It’s a no brainer that people primarily care about their own purchasing power, and the last few years have depressed that to a shocking degree. Not one person on Earth looks at their inability to pay for groceries or rent and goes, “Well, thank God the markets are okay!”

As for what can be done? Price controls exist. Subsidies exist. The trouble with the modern world is, the wrong prices are controlled, and the wrong products are subsidized – that stuff is all tipped in favor of pouring money into the gullets of the already wealthy and powerful. And that’s a problem that could, in theory, be fixed if anyone at any level of any government gave the slightest shit about the people they serve.

And yet you’ve collectively allowed it to happen, and have taken no action to change the status quo.

Sounds like Americans like their authoritarianism just fine.

edit: Lotta Americans here angry they don’t know how to protest like a grown up country.

These complains about “you just don’t understand our political system” are just you disempowering yourself and excusing your own inaction. If you actually cared about any of this you’d be out in the streets.

That there are no mass protests. No major efforts to modify laws. No new candidates for political offices offering anything substantive. All while your life expectancy collapses, your birth rate falls off a cliff, your healthcare system continues to implode, and your wealthiest parasites make trouble for everyone without consequences.

You don’t actually care about your problems if you aren’t willing to go outside to try to solve them.

The real differentiator is pacing and editing.